No 6 & One-Half
by maki.noriko
Summary: Rated M for Act II. MxM. Dr. Shion Tanaki runs a small family practice. He spends most of his days treating children's scrapes and bruises. His needs are all met, and his life seems peaceful. When Shion finds an injured Nezumi stealing medical supplies one night, his dull but peaceful life seems at an end. A story set in a similar time and place as, but not quite, No. 6...
1. Act I, Scene I

**A/N: **I haven't finished reading No.6 yet, though I've been finishing a volume every other day it seems. Asano-sensei truely has an amazing writing style. Every moment I'm reading, I feel like I'm standing a little too far towards the edge of the scene for Shion and Nezumi to see me. Many times, while reading, I found myself yelling at Shion or Nezumi for being so slow. In my head, of course, not out loud...

I wanted to try writing something as passionate as Asano-sensei, that draws you in next to everyone, and makes your heart swell with their pain and love.

And, of course, I can't lie. I mostly just wanted Nezumi and Shion to make out. Good-bye kiss, my ass. That's a rip-off. Good-bye boning should have ensued.

* * *

_Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player_  
_Who struts and frets his hour upon the stage_  
_And then is heard no more: it is a tale_  
_Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury_  
_Signifying nothing. _

– **William Shakespeare, _Macbeth_.**

* * *

Shion places his mug down on the desk and logs into his PC.

"Please recite the pledge of allegience to the city."

Shion goes about his morning in the usual fashion. He pledges allegience to the city. He drinks his too-sweet coffee. He makes small talk with his co-workers.

* * *

"Tulia, didn't I tell you last time you came in here that you'd get hurt again if you weren't more careful?"

"I know, Dr. Tanaki. I'm sorry, but the boy was going to take my balloon!"

"Tulia! Didn't I just finish telling you that's a poor excuse for getting into a scrap! Now Tulia has to take a special citizenship class. I swear — what did I ever do to deserve such a disrespectful daughter?"

Shion sighs as he gently cleans the gravel out of the little girl's scrapes and then washes them out with disinfectant.

"Ouch! Dr. Tanaki, that stings!"

"I'm almost finished — be a tough girl for me. Next time, you'll promise not to start trouble right?"

"Yes, Dr. Tanaki."

What a cheeky girl, she doesn't even try to sound sincere.

* * *

"Dr. Tanaki, try to remember to lock the doors when you leave. Last time Sharon blamed me for it!"

"Sorry, Shirley. I'll remember this time. I've just got to finish the supply order for this month before I leave."

The sun is already beginning to set when Shion sits to glance at the expense reports. The season is starting to change, and the days are becoming shorter.

Although the expense report is almost finished — and he probably isn't really going to get any work done on it — he is hesitant to leave the office.

Shion has come to enjoy walking home in the dark. Despite the ample streetlights in the Holy City, the dark always lingers nearby, obscuring the landscape, waiting…

Waiting for what?

The last sliver of the sun dips below the horizon as Shion stares listlessly out the window.

What's slinking in the shadows behind the streetlights?

It is fully dark when Shion finally pulls himself from his reverie. He packs a briefcase and grabs his keys from the desk drawer.

He locks the front door first, then makes his way to the back of the clinic where his car is parked.

Did Shirley turn all the lights off outisde his office when she left?

Shion sees a sliver of light peeking through the stock room door.

Shion ducks his head in to turn off the light.

Shirley didn't leave yet? No, that's not Shirley. Someone else?

A man.

He is rooting through the boxes purposefully. Suddenly, he stops and whips around to face Shion.

He has a knife in one hand, and he is bleeding.

"Don't move. You understand what's happening, right? You're being robbed."

The man's expression is unreadable. But his eyes have an incredible depth. Shion wonders if he could ever understand what they've seen.

"I'm going to take what I need, and you're not gonna move an inch until I have it. Don't try anything smart. When I'm done, you will close the door, and count to one thousand before you come out. Understand me? Try anything smart, and you will be dead."

Shion notices a disturbingly large pool forming at the man's feet.

"You're bleeding."

"Shut up, and stay put."

The man grabs rolls of bandage and guaze from the shelves.

Does he plan to treat the wound on his own?

The wound, as far as Shion can tell, is below the man's ribs. A ragged gash has cut through his shirt there. Underneath, Shion can only see blood glistening and trickling slowly down his left leg.

"Gauze and bandages aren't going to be enough to stop the bleeding for a wound like that."

"I can stitch it later."

Shion frowns. "I am a _doctor_ you know. This is a _clinic._"

"Do I look stupid to you?"

"Let me help you. I can anesthetize you first–"

"That's out of the question."

"Locally, then. I'll cauterize it and stitch it up."

"The Security Bureau should be showing up soon. There are probably cameras all over this place, aren't there?"

"Just in the lobby."

"You're lying. All the hospitals these days have cameras in every room."

"Not mine. The Bureau has been breathing down my neck about it, but…"

"But?"

"I won't compromise on this. A patient's privacy is important to me."

"Let me help you. Come with me to the exam room and I'll do what I can."

The man stares at Shion. Finally…

"You lead. I hope you understand I can kill you easily, even with my bare hands."

"Please don't," Shion laughs nervously. "You'll make my mama cry."

"Just don't try anything, and you'll live."

* * *

Shion gets a syringe and doses a heavy local anesthetic.

"Hey, don't you have something a little more high-tech than that?"

"In Chronos, maybe. Here, a big needle is still most effective."

Shion smiles like a house cat that's found a mouse.

"I don't get to do something like this very often."

"You're welcome for the opportunity, Your Highness."

"Can you take your shirt off, please?"

The man hesitates, but puts the knife in a sheath at his hip. It feels like he was able to take it off without ever taking his eyes off Shion.

Shion gets the disinfectant and swabs the wound quickly.

The man's body is unlike the ones he knows in the residents of Lost Town. He has a slender frame, and Shion didn't notice at first, but there is a strength to his muscles.

Shion has an electric cauterizer, but the procedure should be done under a stronger anesthetic to reduce shock.

"This is probably going to hurt. Local anesthetic isn't enough."

"Just get it done before I bleed out."

Shion sears the severed vessels closed, cutting off the blood flow. The electric cauterizer can be incredibly accurate, but Shion feels as if there isn't much time for accuracy.

He simply does the best he can. The man never once releases his grip on his knife, but his knuckles white around the knife's handle.

Shion puts the cauterizer down and stitches the wound back together. Shion is not skilled enough to have sealed it perfectly. It will leave a horrible scar.

"I can do a blood transfusion, but I'd need to input your citizenship number to authorize the blood. You probably really do need a transfusion, though."

"Not a chance."

"I thought you might say that."

"You're a strange person."

"Why do you say that?"

"You never even asked my name, Dr. Shion Tanaki."

"Then, what is it?"

"Nezumi."

"Rat?"

"Yeah, that name's as good as any other. Why not?"

Shion grabs a coat from the closet.

"I don't have a spare shirt, but I think it would maybe be best if you wore this instead."

Nezumi dons the coat and moves for the door.

"What are you gonna do when I close this door?"

"Count to one thousand…" Shion answers. "Come here if you ever need a doctor again."

Nezumi closes the door behind him. Shion leans against the examination table with a sigh.

He should report the man as suspicious to the Security Bureau. If he doesn't and they find out he was here…

Shion would be found severely lacking in judgement.

A chill snakes slowly down Shion's spine. He's paralyzed.

And then what?

After the Security Bureau decides you're severely lacking in judgement…

Is the man, Nezumi, a criminal? Am I aiding a criminal by not reporting him to the Security Bureau?

Nezumi didn't need to tell Shion to count to a thousand and wait. He is rooted to this spot by the enormity of what he'd done.

What was I thinking?

My oath. I did my job. Now I should call the Security Bureau and let them do theirs.

But when Shion remembers Nezumi's eyes, the soul he glimpsed there, none of the countless voices telling him to call the Security Bureau, tell them a man covered in blood threatened you, can convince him to report Nezumi.

Shion starts counting.

One.. two… three…


	2. Act I, Scene II

**A/N:** I have to admit, I have like a serious little girl crush on Nezumi. He's cool, but passionate. He's into classical literature. He's like, an actor, all Victorian England style, where the women are all played by cute-faced boys.

He's too cute. I want to snuggle with him on his sofa, and listen to him read "Paradise Lost", or something equally cool and obscure. Alas...

* * *

The tree has entered my hands,  
The sap has ascended my arms,  
The tree has grown in my breast -  
Downward,  
The branches grow out of me, like arms.

**-Ezra Pound, _A Girl_.**

* * *

Shion awakes to the shrill sound of his alarm. It flashes 5:30 AM.

_Thud... thud... thud..._

Is that... knocking? Shion is filled with a deep sense of dread.

Who's knocking so insistently this early in the morning?

He gets out of bed and dressed quickly, running down the hallwall while he pulls a sweater over his head.

He remembers the night before, and finds himself once more rendered incapable of movement. His mind races uncontrollably, but his feet remain firmly planted.

What if it's the Security Bureau? Should he try to run? Could he explain himself somehow?

"This is the Security Bureau. Dr. Shion Tanaki, please open the door."

The voice comes loud and clear even through the door.

Shion somehow finds the will to move. Maybe if he explains, they'll understand.

My oath. As a doctor, I had to help him. When I saw those eyes, that looked like they'd never laughed, I just didn't want him to suffer any more hardships.

He unlocks the door. He hasn't had a chance to open the door when it's flung open by the officer.

"You're Dr. Shion Tanaki," the officer asks.

"Yes."

"You're under arrest for failing to report a suspicious person you saw last night. Several witnesses saw him enter your facility last night. That was a severe error in good judgement."

"Yes, officer."

"Would you like to come peacefully to the Bureau and explain your actions?" It is not a question.

"Yes, officer."

Shion feels himself being flattened under the weight of the situation.

They are taking him to the Security Bureau. His luck is probably looking a lot worse than losing his medical license.

The first officer handcuffs Shion while the second one briefly pats him down and checks Shion's pockets.

Satisfied, they lead him into the discrete vehicle.

Am I going to end up in the Correctional Facility?

Shion trembles with indecision.

What do I do? I don't want to go to prison-

He looks out the passenger window with confusion. "I thought we were going to the Security Bureau."

"We were, but then our colleagues found this recording. Do you want to know where this is from?"

Shion hears a sick pleasure in the officer's voice.

"From the stock room, in the clinic. It seems like you had good reason to oppose the security cameras, but lucky for us, the diet approved auditory surveillance in all public facilities last month."

A wave of nausea rolls over Shion. They heard Nezumi threaten to kill. It was incredibly Bad Judgement not to call the Bureau.

Bad enough for the Correctional Facility?

The officers speak with the border guard at the West Gate. After a few moments, the guard returns and he waves them through. The gate opens and the car speeds through the checkpoint.

"Getting close, now." The officer laughs.

The car lurches to a stop suddenly.

"Goddamn it, what the hell's wrong with this thing?"

"You watch the prisoner. I'll take a look."

The officer gets out of the car and disappears behind the hood of the car.

The passenger-side door is thrown open and the second officer jerks out of the car.

A second later Shion's door opens and Nezumi is unlocking his handcuffs.

"We're going to make a run for it. Be ready."

Nezumi's head has already disappeared outside the car.

"How-"

"Questions later. Escaping is more important."

She stumbles out of the vehicle. Nezumi is stowing the bodies of the officers under the car.

Are they... dead?

"That will buy us a few minutes, maybe. Let's go before anyone notices they're missing."

Before Shion can say anything more, Nezumi breaks into a sprint.

"Let's go!"

Shion hears the radio in the car beep, then a transmission-

"Officer Takai, are you approaching the facility yet?"

Shion runs after Nezumi. He was right-escape first.

Questions later.

* * *

Shion thinks he's going to throw up. His body shakes, and each breath stabs red-hot stakes of pain into his lungs.

"Not much of an athlete, are you," Nezumi asks.

"No... not much," Shion manages between gulps of air.

Thankfully, the air Nezumi's little hole in the ground was blessedly cool and a cross-breeze was coming from somewhere.

Nezumi disappears down a winding tunnel. Shion can't see where it leads to.

Maybe Nezumi's little hole in the ground is bigger than he thought.

Here, in what looks to be the den, Shion sees books.

Antique books with yellowing pages litter the floor, forming labyrinthine walls through the room. Hundreds. No - thousands.

Shion sees shelves behind the wall of books, but most of the collection seems to be contained on the floor. The sight is awe-inspiring. Shion had never seen so many books - real, actual, paper-bound books - in one place. The government had long ago, digitized most of their educational material, and most of the public libraries were digital now, too.

He spots the little nose of a little mouse twitching around the corner of one of the book's spines on the closest shelf.

The mouse peeks around the corner, then leaps onto a pile of books and races towards Shion.

It jumps neatly from the closest pile right onto Shion's shoulder.

Cheep-cheep.

Nezumi reappears in the tunnel with a pitcher of water and two beaten cups.

"He's taken a liking to you."

Shion takes a cup and Nezumi fills it wordlessly from the pitcher. The two men drink.

Shion doesn't think he's ever been so grateful for the sweet, clean taste of water.

"How did you know I was being taken by the Security Bureau," Shion finally asks.

"I had a feeling that might happen."

"So you were watching me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, I wouldn't go that far on a hunch. One of these little guys stayed behind and followed you."

The mouse on Shion's shoulder jumps into Nezumi's outstretched hand and scampers up to the crook of Nezumi's neck.

"He also would have told me if you'd tried to leave too quickly."

"But why? Won't this cause you a lot of trouble?"

"You mean with the Bureau? No. 6 doesn't concern themselves with the outside. They probably won't spend much time nosing around in West Block."

"I'd say it's worth the risk to have a doctor to rely on." Nezumi's expression grows dark. "I can rely on you, right?"

Shion is aware that Nezumi is waiting for a response, but Shion is once again filled with the feeling that he's in a bad situation.

This man said he would kill me.

Nezumi is on him before Shion even recognizes that he is moving. Shion's back is against the thresh floor, immobilized by the knife at his throat.

"Dr. Shion, listen to me very closely. This might not be the Correctional Facility, but it's not the Promised Land, either. You can live here, and I can help you."

"But I can kill you, too. So I need to know if you can be reliable? You understand?"

Once again, Nezumi's face is a mask to him.

Can I be reliable...? No, I don't understand what you mean at all, Nezumi.

"Sometimes people around here forget who their friends are. Start telling people things that are supposed to be kept secret."

"But you're smart, I can rely on you to remember that I'm your friend, right?"

Shion nods. He still isn't quite sure what Nezumi means, but the knife is starting to make him nervous-Nezumi wants him to agree, right?

I'll agree to anything, but don't kill me. Please.

Nezumi takes the knife from Shion's neck and places it back in its sheath.

"Good. You still don't understand, but you'll remember. That's good enough. Can't expect a good citizen of No. 6 to really understand things like 'life or death'."

"But you'll learn," Nezumi finishes flatly.

* * *

"Nezumi, you sure do have a lot of old books."

Shion is amazed by Nezumi's library. Volumes upon volumes of Shakespeare, Yeats, Alighieri, Homer, and classical poets Shion had never even heard of before. The pages were yellowed and moldy, their covers battered and torn.

"You should take better care of them."

"Books don't need to be taken care of like humans. They're doing just fine where they are. Besides, I know exactly where everything is, so don't go messing it up."

"What's on the top of this pile then," Shion asks incredulously.

"Hamlet."

Shion breaks out into raucous laughter. After this morning, he feels like he shouldn't be able to laugh, but even such a small thing is able to make him laugh after all that.

"Nope. It's Macbeth."

Nezumi breaks off a piece of bread and hands it to Shion with a bowl of soup.

"This is probably a poor supper for your sophisticated tastes, but this is a gourmet meal in West Block."

Shion rips a piece of bread and dips it in the stew. Nezumi is right - the meat is stringy and there are only a few pieces of vegetable.

However, at the end of their meal, Shion feels the same warm contentment he always does after supper.

Nezumi is gazing at Shion, like he's trying to figure out a difficult puzzle.

"What?"

"Maybe the citizens of No. 6 are tougher than I give them credit for. Or has it just not hit you yet?"

"Has what not hit me yet?"

Nezumi lets out an exasperated sigh.

"You've lost everything. Your career. Your house. Your friends and family. You'll never see any of them again."

Shion thinks about it briefly. He never had any particular attachment to his home. It was a nice house, but it had always felt rather empty. His mother had passed last year. His only friend - Safu - had taken an elite job in Chronos, and he saw her only a few times a year.

Shion feels like he never really had anything to lose. It had been a comfortable life, but it had been without...

Without what?

Shion ponders on this part longer.

I had everything I could ever need. Maybe there were somethings he would have liked to have, but...

"I guess I can't explain it fully, but I don't really feel a sense of loss. I don't have any family left in No. 6 and my practice was probably going to go bankrupt in the next two years. Or so the Bureau of Public Health kept trying to convince me. So I should just let the Bureau take financial control..."

"Things were starting to get that bad, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Even small businesses like a family clinic..." Nezumi explains. "The government couldn't stand to not have control over it, or you. I'm surprised you were still alive to treat me. Standing behind your beliefs. That's one thing they won't accept."

The words hung in air lime a noose.

That's one thing they won't accept...

Standing behind your beliefs.

Shion feels sick to his stomach. Is that really how it is in No. 6?

Of course it is, I saw it all along. Hiding behind the glare of the streetlights and the pledge of allegiance.

"Shion, No. 6 is insect, a parasite, that sucks whatever it wants from its people and leaves them to die when it's through."

Shion starts to weep softly. Not because of what he lost that morning, but because he never realized he spent his whole life living in a bug net.

And because, just this morning, he'd finally flown free of it.


	3. Act I, Scene III

**A/N:** I know when I released the first chapter of _No. 6 & 1/2_, I said something cocky like "there should have been boning and making out!" As I write, I find Shion and Nezumi a little more resistant to the idea than I thought. As I was writing, I kept thinking, "they'll at least make out by the end of Act I." As I kept writing, they kept refusing to make out.

I'm sorry for the disappointment. I've written up to Act II, Scene II, and the boning doesn't actually come until that chapter - if you want to skip to the boning, that'd be the place to start. I'll have Act II, Scene I up shortly, and Act II, Scene II is almost finished, and should be ready in a day or two.

Thank-you for continuing to read, even if there isn't any naughty business happening (_yet_)! I'd love if you reviewed if you have time!

* * *

There is another sky,  
Ever serene and fair,  
And there is another sunshine,  
Though it be darkness there;  
Never mind faded forests, Austin,  
Never mind silent fields—  
Here is a little forest,  
Whose leaf is ever green [...]

**- Emily Dickinson, _There Is Another Sky._**

* * *

Shion is reading aloud to one of the mice when Nezumi returns from work. He looks worn and tired, but Shion still doesn't even know what the other does for a living.

Shion decides to try and find out again.

"Nezumi, you're back early."

"It was a short night," Nezumi replies simply, with no more explanation than that.

Shion tries digging a little harder.

"What kind of work do you do? You look exhausted when you come back."

Nezumi gazes evenly at Shion.

"Why do you need to know?"

"Isn't it normal to want to know what a friend is doing?"

"I'm letting you stay here because you saved my life, and you might be useful. That doesn't mean you need to know that much about me or what I do, nor does that even make us friends."

Nezumi lounges on the ragged sofa that has been Shion's bed the last few nights.

"Macbeth," Nezumi comments. "Didn't take you for the type that's into tragedies."

Once again Nezumi skillfully avoids telling Shion anything about himself.

"There's not much variety. You really like tragedies, don't you?"

"'Like them..?' Tragedies are honest. A brutal truth of the world."

Nezumi pulls apart a loaf of bread and hands one half to Shion.

"There are miracles in the world, too," Shion answers honestly.

Nezumi snorts. "Miracles? I can't say I've seen any of those. Plenty tragedies, though."

"Liar."

"What do you know?"

"It was a miracle that I escaped the Correctional Facility. I thought... it was over. I had a feeling a wasn't going to get to live to a ripe old age. I was ready to give up. You saved me."

Only a sheltered citizen like Shion can see something like this as a miracle. He still doesn't understand.

"When you really know what kind of life this will be, then tell me that again. You're so naive that it's making my head hurt. I'm going to bed. Feed the furnace before you fall asleep."

With that Nezumi stalks away into one of the tunnels to his room. Shion sighs, and returns to Macbeth.

* * *

It's still early in the day when Shion rises to the sound of a kettle boiling.

"I could have cut you open and been out of here with your purse before you woke up." Nezumi says.

"And a good morning to you, too."

"I'm sorry, did I disturb your slumber, my liege? His lordship will find the stale bread and tea I've prepared for breakfast acceptable, I hope."

Shion clears his plate. He can't remember ever finishing a meal without feeling full before. Now, the meagre meal seems to make him more hungry than it is filling.

"I'm going into the market to buy some food. Come with me, but stay close, and don't try sticking your nose into other people's problems like you're always doing."

* * *

Shion knows that West Block is a filthy and unsanitary place. He's been told that much about it. It isn't like he is unprepared for what he finds in West Block.

Filthy and unsanitary... those words alone aren't enough to describe what he sees. The market is along a pier by the ocean.

When he saw it from a distance, hope sparkled inside him. The green-blue light reflecting off the water was beautiful. Even in a place like the West Block there can be beautiful things.

Shion's hope shatters when he reaches the pier. Huge swathes of algae and kelp cover the surface nearly 50 meters out from the shore. The water he can see is filthy and filled with refuse.

Shion spies what he's almost certain is a human calf, separated from the hip and knee.

Chopped into little pieces.

"Is that-" Shion points, words failing.

"Stop pointing, you're drawing attention." Nezumi hissed. "A lot of bodies wash up on shore. The birds pick the meat clean."

Almost as an afterthought, Nezumi continues, "Those birds are mean though. They don't care if you're still moving or not."

Even the birds will rip you apart, he seems to be saying.

Shion struggles against the waves that are crashing against him.

I'm in over my head again. What am I doing?

"If you stand there looking all spaced out like that, someone will stick a knife in your back."

Nezumi pulls him into any alley and out of the main the throng of traffic.

"Things are gonna be tough if you panic every time you see a body floating in the bay." Nezumi's voice is calm and soft like that's just a simple fact.

Shion feels almost weightless. The waves would take even him away one day. Why fight for today so you can die tomorrow?

As simple and natural as the tide. You're born when the tide comes in, and you die when the tide goes out.

Why bother swimming against the current?

"O, that this too solid flesh would melt! Thaw! And resolve itself into a dew!"

Nezimi performs the lines perfectly. His face is a perfect picture of the despair Shion feels in his heart.

"Go ahead and melt into the ground, I'm not going to stop you. Just sit down there and die. But hurry up and decide - don't drag me along for the ride with you."

Shion finds himself gazing into Nezumi's colorless eyes again. When he first saw those eyes, he wondered what things they had seen.

This is part of what they've seen. Yes, but there is still more hiding there.

Shion decides he won't quit, even if the sea had deceived him from a far. Maybe there are still things worth seeing on this Earth.

"I'm not going to sit down and die. Not today."

Nezumi laughs. "'Not today', huh? Well that's okay. Let's get some food to eat just for today."

Shion takes Nezumi's outstretched hand and steadies his body's shaking.

They head back into the fray of bodies. The streets are packed tightly with shoppers and vendors hawking their wares.

"That was _Hamlet_, right?"

"What?"

"'That my too solid flesh might melt.' Isn't it _Hamlet_?"

"Oh, that. Yes, it was the prince of Denmark himself who said it."

"That was an amazing performance, Nezumi. 'If my too solid flesh would melt...'"

I think I understand how the prince must have felt facing down the deep, fathomless depths of his mind.

* * *

A number of shops seem to be grilling small birds, too large to be chicken. Shion pales.

Surely they don't eat the same birds that scavenge the beach...

"Nezumi, please tell me you don't buy any of that bird meat."

Shion can't stomach the idea of eating birds that have been fattened on the bodies of dead citizens of the West Block. What little breakfast he had threatens to leave him.

"A lot of people think you'll be cursed if you eat those birds. A lot of people are starving and thinking they got more pragmatic concerns to think about than curses, too."

Nezumi shrugs as if to say he couldn't care less either way. "No, I don't buy the bird meat."

He pulls Shion into a cramped shop selling vegetables. Most of them have rotted through in at least one spot.

Shion watches as Nezumi picks through a box of potatoes. He picks out four that seem to have less eyes than the others, are still mostly firm.

A squabble breaks out between two haggardly women over a tomato with mold spots dotting the top.

It's the last tomato the shopkeeper has.

Nezumi _tsk_s and walks away to pay for their own pathetic potatoes.

The two women begin to shove each other. Through the fighting they somehow manage not to crush the overripe tomato.

The lady holding the tomato suddenly falls, a look of surprise blooming on her face. A twisted red grin runs across her dirty white apron.

She shrieks, her shrill voice crying in agony.

A stomach wound. It would be a slow and painful death.

Shion only notices he's moving when he's stopped by Nezumi's hand on his arm. Nezumi's fingers dig painfully into his flesh.

"I told you to keep your nose out of other people's business."

The other woman looks disgusted when she sees that the tomato has been crushed.

"You better not be thinking on going anywhere." The shopkeeper says slowly. "One of you is going to pay for that tomato."

The woman bends over and rustles through the bleeding girl's pockets. The woman on the ground struggles, but the other eventually finds what she was looking for.

Her coin purse.

Shion doesn't know how much more of the West Block he can handle. The despair rolls through his body again.

"And what am I supposed to do with her body?"

The woman dumps the entire coin purse into the shopkeep's hand.

Inside the bag, he finds one gold coin.

"That'll pay for a Disposer. Now get out of here and don't let me see you in here again."

The other woman is still groaning on the floor.

"Nezumi," Shion whispers.

"What?"

"I don't ha

ve the tools to help with a wound like that. She's going to bleed out slowly... I can't do anything... to help."

Nezumi releases his arm and Shion feels cold steel in his hand.

"If you really want to help, put her out of her misery."

What a twisted kind of help that would be.

Shion grips the handle tightly. His heart wavers and cries murder, murder!

Again, Shion is not aware of moving. The woman pleads. Kill me, please. Let it end. Let it end.

He imagines himself back in the clinic . He places the scalpel carefully along the carotid and presses a deep, red line down the length of her neck.

Nezumi whispers softly in Shion's ear, " To die...to sleep... To sleep, and perchance, to dream..."

Nezumi takes the knife from Shion's limp hand and wipes it carelessly on his pants and pops it back into its sheath.

"_Hamlet_ again, if you were wondering. Though maybe _Macbeth_ suits you better."

Shion doesn't understand how Nezumi finds the ability to laugh at him. Kneeling here, soaked through in another human being's blood.

Nezumi must see because he hauls him up by the arm.

"You told me today you were going to live."

Nezumi's eyes accused him of giving up.

"Not today," Shion repeats.

That's right. Another day, but not today. There are still too many experiences in Nezumi's eyes Shion can't understand.

So, not today. Once again Shion finds himself leaning on Nezumi.

"That's... probably enough for one day, huh? Let's go back for today. I'll get some beef on the way home from work."

Once again, Nezumi's eyes haunt him. What about Nezumi keeps Shion's feet planted firmly in this world when his will was drifting away?

* * *

If he keeps moping like this, I'll...

Nezumi can't finish the thought.

I'll what? If I keep threatening to kill Shion, he'll call my bluff eventually. Shion _is_ acting unusually weird though.

Nezumi glances to the corner where Shion has hid himself in. Earlier, Nezumi thought he heard Shion crying, but when he checked on him, his face was a blank slate.

Shion hasn't spoken since the market.

Nezumi has no more words for Shion. There is no elegant Shakespearean verse that can explain the depths of despair one feels the first time they see a human life taken so callously.

Shion will come to terms, or he won't. Nezumi has done all he can.

"Make sure you feed the heater before you fall asleep. I'll be pissed if I wake up in the morning with frost on my blanket."

Shion doesn't answer.

Nezumi sighs, and heads towards him room down the back hall.

The attachment he feels towards the other is... unsettling to Nezumi. A rope that can too easily be twisted around his own neck.

"Nezumi."

He might have missed the word if he'd walked any further down the hall.

"Yes?"

"Don't leave yet. Read to me..."

"...Please-?"

Nezumi hesitates. Shion starts to believe the man had padded silently back to his room, when Nezumi's voice carries through the den-

"There is another sky,  
Ever serene and fair,  
And there is another sunshine,  
Though it be darkness here;  
Never mind faded forests, Austin,  
Never mind silent fields  
-Here is a little forest,  
Whose leaf is ever green."

The darkness that threatens to overcome Shion flees at the sound of Nezumi's voice.

Shion lets himself be carried away by the deep passion of Nezumi's voice. He's carried to the small house in Lost Town he'd grown up in, and the little flower garden his mother fretted over every summer.

"Thank you, Nezumi." Shion can't think of anything more adequate to say.

"Will that be all, your highness?"

Shion has already slipped into a peaceful dream. Sitting among the sweet scents of the garden with his mother.

Nezumi takes the blanket from the sofa and winds his way through the corridors of books where he finds Shion.

His knees drawn up to his chin, he's fallen asleep with one of the mice nestled against his neck.

Nezumi drapes the blanket over Shion and whispers. "Good night, sweet prince."


	4. Act II, Scene I

**A/N:** Thanks to my first reviewers, Midnight and Ms. Alyse! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

It's hard to believe I've written well over 5k words for this fic already... it's getting a little out of hand, actually. I spend my days writing fan fics and drinking soda. It's become well out of my control - this story just seems to have a life of its own.

Look forward to smut next chapter, my children. OP will deliver.

* * *

_Grace was in all her steps,_  
_heaven in her eye,_  
_in every gesture dignity and love._

**- John Milton, _Paradise Lost_.**

* * *

Shion decides to make bacon and eggs for supper. Nezumi brought them home last night, and they look delicious after the bland vegetable soup they usually have.

When Shion places the bacon in a hot skillet, the small den fills quickly with the scent.

Down one of the tunnels, Shion catches the sound of Nezumi's heavy it's-too-early-to-be-awake footfalls.

"Morning."

Nezumi slumps on the sturdy old sofa without acknowledging Shion. His mussy hair is unbound and unbrushed.

"It's my day off, you really have to wake me up at the crack of dawn?" Nezumi gripes with a petulant expression. Like a child who's told he has to wake up early on a weekend.

Though Shion's reality of a Utopian No. 6 where no one truly suffered has been irrevocably shattered, he also finds himself inexplicably drawn to this man.

Nezumi.

Shion doesn't know if that's his real name, though he has a feeling it isn't. What is his real name? How did he find himself in the West Block?

Shion doesn't even know where Nezumi works or what his work is.

"Someone has work for you. One of his dogs got in a fight with a coyote. He didn't think much of it because the dog wasn't cut up too bad, but the wound is infected. He's got a few silvers for you if you can fix the dog up."

"I'm not really a vet," Shion answers hesitantly.

"Human or dog, it can't be that different. Treat the infection and clean the wound. Probably more simple than a gunshot wound."

"If you won't do it though, I'll tell Inukashi to just put it down."

_Inukashi-?_ What a strange name. To just put the poor thing down...

What would be the trouble in trying, and he'd get paid. If he could be less of a burden on Nezumi, he would try.

"I wouldn't know where to get any antibiotics to treat the infection."

"There are a few medicine shops on the pier, most of them are pretty seedy, but I'll see if I can find something."

Nezumi smiles wickedly at Shion.

"You're probably the closest the West Block has to a doctor, and you're going to treat a dog. How's your pride feel, Your Holiness?"

"Ha," Shion laughs. "What pride? I'm a godly man who's cast pride away. I'm the most humble person you'll ever meet."

Nezumi snorts. "My apologies, Majesty."

Shion catches Nezumi's gaze, and something hot runs down Shion's spine.

Shion breaks away hurriedly from Nezumi's eyes and finishes getting breakfast together.

* * *

"The medicine woman said this salve would pull out the infection, and you'll just need to keep disinfecting and purging the infection until the wound heals."

"You got this from a medicine woman? What is it, eye of newt and mug wort or something?"

Shion is speechless. Did Nezumi expect a medicine woman's salve to be anything more than an expensive placebo?

Nezumi sighs. "The medicine woman's salves are good. Antibiotics like you had inside No. 6 cost a fortune in the West Block. More than Inukashi could spare for one dog."

"The medicine woman's salve costs one silver. And it does work."

Shion takes the salve reluctantly, and lets Nezumi lead him to his "patient."

* * *

Nezumi brings him through an oak grove. The trees begin to thin and Shion spots the ruins of an old brick building. It's quite large compared to the others Shion's seen in the West Block, and seems sturdy despite the state of disrepair it is in.

He guesses it was probably a warehouse or a factory at one point. A rusty chain-link fence runs around the perimeter of the building, though it's broken in many places. The building has massive walls with gaping windows. Many of them are boarded up, but a few still have steel-reinforced glass in them.

It looks like a fortress to Shion. Inside the fence, Shion sees lumps of fur curled up under the shade of the open bay door.

Probably the dogkeeper's dogs.

"It was a textile factory. Inukashi and his dogs live here. In the winter he sets a couple of oildrums on fire for warmth and people pay a small fee to sleep on the ground by them."

"He also rents out the big, furry dogs to sleep by for warmth."

The dogs notice their presence and begin raising an alarm. Shion hears dogs growling behind him, and whips around to find dogs surrounding them from all sides.

The dogs advance and back them against the fence.

A shrill whistle echoes from inside the factory, and the dogs retreat back to the shade to lie down.

Shion doesn't notice he was holding his breath until he takes a ragged breath.

Nezumi looks over at Shion with a smirk.

That jerk wasn't even worried.

A dark-skinned boy with long hair exits the warehouse with a dog at his heel.

Well, truth be told, Shion doesn't know if it's a boy or girl.

"My dogs said they smelled something rotten. Hmph, of course it was you."

"I'm really hurt, Inukashi, I thought we were friends."

"With a rat like you-never. You wouldn't even taste good, I'd probably get indigestion if I tried to eat your spoiled meat."

Inukashi's nose twitches.

"This weird guy the one that's gonna help my dog," Inukashi asks, pointing a finger to Shion.

"The one and only Dr. Shion. You should be grateful he's going to take care of one of your mutts, and for cheap, too."

Shion and Nezumi follow the dogkeeper into the factory ruins. Inukashi leads them up to a loft in the rafters where the wounded dog lies curled up.

The dog takes slow, ragged breaths. Inukashi gives the dog a quick scratch behind the ears, and it stretches out in its side exposing the wound.

The fur around the dog's wound is matted and dyed black. The wound itself was weeping putrid yellow pus.

"This is pretty far gone..."Shion mumbles.

He reaches out to inspect how deeply the infection had spread, meaning to move the dog's matted fur out of the way.

The dog growls and Shion pulls back quickly.

"Is he going to take my arm off if I try to touch him?"

"Not if I'm here," Inukashi replies.

Shion reaches out and gives the dog a quick pat on the head.

"There, there. We're going to fix you right up," Shion murmurs.

The dog quiets and Shion pulls a pair of scissors from the supply bag Nezumi had prepared for him.

"Hey, what are you going to do with those?"

"I'm just going to trim back the fur around the wound so I can get a good look at it. His fur will grow back."

"Well obviously, that wasn't what I was worried about. Geez, where'd you find such an oblivious guy, Nezumi?"

As Shion trims the shaggy dog's fur, he can crimson roots snaking away from the wound.

"The infection has begun to spread through his bloodstream. I would say that the prognosis isn't good. Let's hope the salve Nezumi had prepared is worth what he spent on it."

Shion is not convinced the medicine woman's salve is more than whatever plants she found in her backyard ground together. Not likely to be much more than hocus-pocus.

"The progwhatsis? Can't you even speak like a normal person?"

"Can't you tell just from how the good doctor said it? The dog is probably half-dead already."

"I'll do whatever I can for your dog, Inukashi." Shion looks the dogkeeper in the eyes, his gaze steady.

Shion is totally serious. When he says he'll do "whatever he can" for Inukashi's dog, Inukashi feels like that weird guy actually would do anything for the dog.

"Whatever, just do it already. What's up with you anyways?"

Inukashi storms down the stairs and out through the bay doors.

The area around the wound is mostly clear of hair, though Shion wishes he has a way to shave it instead.

He disinfects the wound, and does the best he can to cut around the necrotic flesh. He had no way to know if he was doing it correctly, since he never treated anything more severe than a kitchen accident. All theoretical. Shion is still confident.

He sutures the wound closed expertly - that he had plenty of practice with. All in all, the wound is already looking significantly better.

Nezumi watches Shion's hands with interest. There is a grace to his movements, even as he is sewing together flesh.

Shion hopes his thorough cleaning of the wound will allow the dog to fight the infection on his own if the salve doesn't work.

He slathers the paste onto the dog's wound, feeling like a fool. The dog growls at this. Not at Shion cutting away his flesh or sewing him up, but the placebo-paste. Thankfully, the dog makes no move to bite him.

'I'm sorry,' Shion thinks. 'I wish I had something better, but I don't.'

He bandages the wound to keep the dirt out, and then packs up the supply bag.

"That's all for now. The rest is up to Inukashi and this poor fellow." Shion gives the dog a few light pats on the head. "You just gotta keep your chin up, and keep fighting, okay?"

"Bru-wow," the dog says.

Nezumi clutches his gut, choking with laughter. "Y-you're really g-good with animals, aren't you?"

"What's so funny about that?" Shion is baffled by the sudden outburst of laughter.

"Just something my grandma told me once-that animals... l-l-love...idiots!" Nezumi is fraught with a fresh burst of of raucous laughter.

Inukashi's head pokes up the stairs.

"What the hell you carryin' on about?"

"Beats me..."

Nezumi is threatened by laughter again, but manages to control himself this time. "Children wouldn't understand, so go back to your dogs."

"Actually, Inukashi, I have a couple things to give you first. You'll want to change the bandages, and clean the old salve off. Boil the water first and let it cool down to air temperature. Put on fresh salve, and redress the wound."

Shion hands the jar and a roll of bandages to Inukashi.

"What, that much is good enough already, isn't it?"

"No, the infection has spread beyond the wound now, so you'll need to keep flushing it out. As he gets stronger, he should be able to fight it off."

Inukashi grumbles. "What a pain..."

"If you do this, I'm fairly certain your friend will live, though he might need some time to get his strength back."

"Well..."

"He's counting on you to help him, since he can't do it."

"Even a stupid kid like you can do something simple like boil water and wrap bandages, can't you?" Nezumi smirks.

"Of course I can, I didn't say I wasn't going to do it, did I?" Inukashi gives Nezumi a petulant glare.


	5. Act II, Scene II

**A/N:** This is probably my first time writing any hard smut.

It's quite a bit more difficult than I expected. How can I put it…? I guess I have a new respect for all the fine folk out there who write erotica.

Also, this chapter is for adults only. Like, 100% "not for children", as Nezumi might say.

* * *

_"My bounty is as boundless as the sea,_  
_My love as deep; the more I give to thee,_  
_The more I have, for both are infinite." _

**― William Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet._**

* * *

Shion is trying to organize some of the bookshelves when he sees the front door open out of the corner of his eye. Strange as usual, Nezumi peeks in cautiously through the crack in the door before coming all the way inside.

A mouse on Shion's squeaks in greeting.

Nezumi grumbles under his breath as he tosses himself onto the sofa.

"Did you say something–"

"–Yes! Didn't I tell you not to mess around with my books? I know exactly where everything is."

"Well, you didn't exactly say not to touch them," Shion says, recalling that conversation. "And besides, you never know where they are. You're always running around yelling–'Where is Macbeth?', or 'Shion, what did you do with Faust?'–Even when I haven't touched them, you're always blaming me when you go looking for something."

Shion places a book on the shelf. "At least now I can tell you where it is."

Nezumi grunts, but doesn't try and retaliate.

When did this guy start making himself so comfortable in his house?

The thought of his books being all messed up put him in a bad mood. Nezumi decides now is as good a time as any to drink some of the whiskey he has squirreled away.

He pulls aside the wooden board that transforms his chest into a table. He unlocks the chest with the key he keeps around his neck, and retrieves the whiskey.

It was a gift, and is an exceptional vintage for the West Block. A small fortune in an amber bottle.

"You drink, Nezumi? I didn't take you for the type."

Shion has finished shelving his arm-full of books and starts pestering Nezumi, instead.

"Rarely, but you've driven me to it like a nagging shrew of a wife drives her husband to drink." Nezumi pours a shot into a cup and pounds it back.

"Oh come on, don't exaggerate so much. You're really difficult to live with sometimes, too." Shion huffs.

Nezumi glares back, downing a second bitter shot. "If I'm difficult to live with, the door's over there. I'm not keeping you hostage or anything."

"Nezumi… are you throwing me out? I didn't really mean–"

Nezumi sighs. Is he gonna cry or something?

"I'm not throwing you out, but you can leave if I'm such a terribly difficult person."

"I just meant it takes getting used to, living with another person. Besides, I haven't finished Romeo and Juliette yet."

"They both die."

"Nezumi, you ruined the ending!" Shion flops down next to Nezumi on the couch.

Nezumi sighs and hits a third shot.

"It's a tragedy, idiot. _Everybody_ dies."

"Yeah, but don't you want to hope for them… that it'll work out?"

"It's a tragedy Shion, but everybody dies. That's how life is, too. In the end, everyone ends up dead. It's about the struggle."

"It's about more than the struggle. It's about the moments like these, too." Shion catches Nezumi's gaze, and a familiar spark fires down Shion's spine.

Shion leans over and kisses Nezumi.

'This idiot, what is this about?' Nezumi's head spins a little and he closes his eyes.

Nezumi hasn't thought about doing it, but he's grabbing a handful of Shion's hair and pulling him closer. His tongue licks along Shion's lips. They open as Shion takes in a gasp. Nezumi's tongue darts in, wrapping itself around Shion's. Darting out, back in, licking his lips.

Nezumi breaks the kiss and places a line of kisses down Shion's neck.

Shion pulls back. "N-nezumi, are you thinking straight? The alcohol isn't disrupting your decision-making skills, is it?"

"You're killing the mood, talking so much."

Truthfully, Nezumi hasn't really thought about it, but he doesn't really care. He's had one-night stands before, so what?

Right now, he's thinking of how hard he is, and why shouldn't that be enough of a reason?

"You reacted differently than I thought… I thought… you were just going to yell at me or something."

"So you're saying I completely misjudged your intentions?" Nezumi's gaze was cool, and he suddenly moves away from Shion.

"N-no! Nezumi, I really am — I don't even know how to express what I feel when I'm around you. Like I'm drawn to you…"

Only that idiot can say something like that so seriously. Does he really have no pride at all?

"Well then, do you want to or not?" Nezumi's patience is wearing thin.

"I just don't want it to be something we regret later."

Again, Shion's face is completely serious. Nezumi is floored. "What are you, a teenage girl? You either want to or you don't."

"I want to–" Shion answers with no hesitation.

"–Then get over here."

* * *

Nezumi pushes Shion's back against the bed, and then falls neatly on top of him.

He pins Shion's hands above his head with one hand, and his other hand runs up Shion's stomach and chest, pulling his shirt up.

Shion's body feels almost numb, but Nezumi's fingers draw blazing trails of sensation. He is painfully aware of how aroused he is, his cock pressed tight against the crotch of his pants.

Would Nezumi just take them off already? But Nezumi only pushes them down a little and places little kisses down the curves of hips.

Shion's heart races, beating too quickly. He's torn between wanting Nezumi to keep going like that, and hurry up and–

"Ahh…" A moan escapes Shion's lips as Nezumi finally unbuttons Shion's pants and takes his cock into his hand.

He strokes it lighly, moving slowly. Nezumi's almost at his limit, but Shion is almost shaking, and Nezumi wants to tease him a little more.

"Nezumi, I–" Shion's eyes close and a moan escapes his lips again.

Nezumi stops, and leans in to whisper in Shion ear. "You what?"

Shion could almost hear him purring in satisfaction.

"I want to hear you say it." Nezumi starts rubbing Shion's cock again, faster this time.

Shion cries out, "Nezumi — Ahh!" He's going to come any second now, just…

"–Don't stop–" Shion gasps, and the words slip from his mouth.

Shion is trembling under Nezumi's hand.

Nezumi suddenly slows down, long, slow strokes all the way down his shaft.  
Shion loses control of his hips, grinding and thrusting into Nezumi's tight grip.

A shudder runs through Shion and he's coming into Nezumi's hand. Shion pants breathlessly as his body sinks into the mattress.

Nezumi yanks Shion's pants off, and then nibbles and kisses the inside of his thigh.

Nezumi pulls his shirt off and unbuttons his own pants.

"I'm almost at my limit." Nezumi grabs Shion's legs and yanks hum to the edge of the bed, then leans in and kisses him deeply.

"Just breathe deep, and relax," Nezumi instructs.

Nezumi presses two fingers into Shion's mouth. "Get them nice and wet."

Nezumi yanks Shion's pants off, and then nibbles and kisses the inside of his thigh.

"You still didn't say it yet." Nezumi pulls his shirt off and unbuttons his own pants. "I want to hear His Majesty beg to be fucked."

"Nezumi, p-please… _fuck me…_"

Nezumi cock jerks appreciatively.

"I'm almost at my limit." Nezumi grabs Shion's legs and yanks him to the edge of the bed, then leans in and kisses him deeply.

Nezumi pulls away and presses two fingers into Shion's mouth. "Get them nice and wet."

Shion's tongue dances around Nezumi's fingers, and he wants Shion to do that to his cock — but he's too close. He'd never get to the final act if he let Shion blow him.

His fingers pop out of Shion's mouth, but are quickly replaced with his tongue.

Shion's tongue glides around Nezumi's.  
"Hhaa–" Shion pants. He feels Nezumi's finger circles around his ass.

"Just breathe deep, and relax," Nezumi instructs. "I'm going put a finger in."

True to his word, Nezumi's finger presses gently inside. He works it in and out in the same steady rhythm he'd used on Shion's cock moments before.

Nezumi sinks a second finger inside Shion, working him open. Shion's cock is throbbing hard again.

Nezumi spits on his hand, and works it along his shaft. "Usually, I'd have lube, but you're going to have to make do with this for tonight."

Shion's stomach flips in anticipation.

"Just remember to keep breathing, and don't wuss out before it's all the way in."

Shion feels Nezumi's cock bump against his ass. Nezumi pushes in and Shion swears he's going to rip.

No way it's going to fit, no way…

"Keep breathing…" Nezumi whispers.

"It… hurts." Shion grunts.

"Only until it's all the way in. Bear with it."

Shion really feels like his ass is going to rip apart.

God, it's too much, it's too big, it'll never–

Shion gasps as the last of Nezumi's shaft buries inside him.

Nezumi kisses Shion. "All in now. Wasn't so bad, was it?" Nezumi's voice is deep and breathless.

Nezumi starts moving his hips again, his lips trailing along the crook of Shion's neck.

Nezumi was right–now that he's all the way in, the pain has faded.

Shion only feels the throbbing thickness of Nezumi inside him now.

Nezumi sets a quick pace, churning Shion's insides, and he hits a spot that makes Shion gasp and buck against him.

"Ahhh, yes… yes–just like that," Shion breathes.

Nezumi feels Shion's entrance tighten, and Nezumi lets out a few moans of his own. "Shion… you are… unbelievably–"

Stars burst in Shion's vision. He can't focus on seeing right now. He closes his eyes and just feels…

"God, Shion," Nezumi gasps. He can't control his pace anymore, and he is thrusting as hard as he can into Shion's tight hole.

"Nezumi!" Shion buries his hands in Nezumi's hair, pulling his head against Shion's chest.

Nezumi can feel Shion coming. Shion's entrance becomes unbelievably tight, even tighter than before.

"Haa-ahn," Shion breathes. "N-nezumi…"

A white-hot arc flows through Shion's body right down through his cock. His cum flows onto his stomach and pools there.

Nezumi can't hold back. He pulls out quickly, stroking his aching cock.

"Hhhaa–" He spills his load onto the pool of Shion's cum, and falls beside him on the bed.

* * *

Nezumi awakes to a soft scratching from the front door. Even though the sound is minute–and his room is quite far from the door–Nezumi hears it like it is at his bedroom door.

Nezumi pushes Shion's slender figure aside and gets out of bed.

Completely oblivious. Shion barely even bats and eyelid as Nezumi dresses quickly.

At the front door, Nezumi finds one of Inukashi's dogs. The morning light needles Nezumi's eyes, leaving him nearly blind. His head is pounding, too.

This is the reason I don't drink.

"Get out of here, whatever Inukashi's selling, I don't want it," Nezumi growls at the dog.

The dog barks, and runs past Nezumi.

"Hey, you little bastard–get out of here!"

The dog scampers down the tunnel to Nezumi's bedroom.

Oh no you don't. You are not getting wet dog smell all over my things.

Nezumi takes off down the tunnel after the dog. In the bedroom, the dog hss made itself comfortable on Nezumi's bed, curled up on Shion's legs while he pet the damned thing.

"Nezumi, is this one of Inukashi's dogs?"

"What–? Of course it's one of Inukashi's," Nezumi yells. "Get it off my bed!"

"Croissant slept in the bed with us last night," Shion points out.

"What? Is Croissant one of the mice? You're naming them now?" Nezumi is exasperated. Why is he going around naming the damned mice. They don't need names. "Just get it off my bed already, his fur is going to make my blankets all musty!"

Nezumi goes to push the dog off the bed, and the dog snaps at this hand. Nezumi pulls back and glares.

"Shion, I'm serious. Get it off my bed." Nezumi's voice is a guttural rumble.

"Calm down," Shion sighs. "Come on boy, down."

The dog hops off the bed and sits smartly.

I'll kill that fucking dog, and his good-for-nothing master, too.

"See, he would have moved if you asked nicely."

Shion gives the dog a gentle pat on the head.

"Whose side are you on anyways," Nezumi huffs.

"I wasn't taking sides or anything. I meant, sometimes things are easier if you don't try to do them with force."

"Whatever. Inukashi probably sent this guy to fetch you, so go see what he wants. Make sure his mutt leaves with you." Nezumi disappears down the tunnel. "I'm going to take a long, hot bath. Don't bother me."

Shion thinks Nezumi's sour expression looks incredibly cute.

Nezumi drank too much, but he won't admit he's hung over.

Shion finds his clothes tossed over the foot board. He's the one who needs a shower, considering–

Not a good time to be thinking about that.

He gets dressed quickly, throwing on his pants, and heads out of the house, shimmying into his shirt. The dog leads the way to Inukashi's.


End file.
